Orthopedic surgeries are common and can carry a very high cost, both financially and in terms of patient recovery time. Orthopedic procedures often target ligaments, menisci, cartilage, tendon, and bone, but the biomechanical problems associated with the underlying impairments may involve muscle dysfunction, as well. Surgeries may be overprescribed or misguided because muscle impairments are not assessed rigorously and may be overlooked as a result. There are currently no effective methods for clinicians to objectively assess the degree of muscle abnormalities in a patient. Manual strength measurements are used to approximate functionality, but these measurements are subjective and may not provide adequate information regarding individual muscles. Currently, clinicians are unable to accurately diagnose muscle strength and imbalance issues. As a result, the ability of clinicians to form customized rehabilitative strategies to address such issues is limited, and the patient may be subjected to unnecessary surgical treatments that are costly and invasive. Further, there exists a need for accurately examining specific muscle abnormalities associated with enhanced athletic or other above-normal muscle performance in certain persons.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the various embodiments described below are presented.